The Giving Pledge | wealthymatters

Tithing in Hinduism

January 23, 2011 2 Comments

Hinduism is a religion without a central church and there is little in it by way of dogma.So there is no compulsion for Hindus to give either to religious or secular charitable organizations .

However,one of the niyamas/observances or practices is dana/charitable giving.This impulse to give has to come from inside and the ideal is to give generously and without thought or expectation of reward.

Another niyam of Hinduism is observing sacred vows or vratas.One of the vratas observed is Dashama Bhaga Vrata: meaning “One-tenth-part vow” in Sanskrit.It is a promise a person makes to a God, or Gods to donate regularly for a specified time, or for the rest of their life ,one tenth of one’s gainful and gifted income.

Together these 2 niyams lead to Dashamamsha (One- Tenth- Sharing in Sanskrit) or Makimai (in Tamil),where people donate a tenth of their income to the Gods in temples or religious institutions.The Dashamamsha is not seen as an offering to God but as God’s share of the bounty.Giving as soon as the income is received is believed to sanctifiy the remaining portion and reap the greatest punya.Dashamamsha is an acknowledgement of God’s part in the person’s good fortune.

Dashamamsha brings a greater awareness of God’s power in the world and the givers are uplifted to a purer spiritual consciousness and abundance naturally floods into their lives. Read more of this post

Filed under Philanthropy Tagged with Charity, Dana, Dashama Bhaga Vrata, Dashamamsha, Hinduism, Makimai, Niyama, Philanthropy, The Giving Pledge, Tithing

Indian Style Philanthropy

January 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Conversations about charity and philanthropy often make me acutely uncomfortable.There is a bit too much sanctimony, one upmanship and pretence for my tastes.Unfortunately ever since Warren Buffet came up with his “The Giving Pledge” , philanthropy is frequently in the news and such conversations have become increasingly commonplace. I just don’t think much of using social pressure to get individuals to comply.It just offends the Libertarian in me.Moreover,I find it hard to see every act of charity I hear of as completely altruistic and having to go through the motions of pretending otherwise is a drag.Worse , I’m all too aware of my own motivations and social expectations of altruism makes giving so stressful.

For people like me ,I come across something interesting while reading last Thursday’s Economic Times newspaper.In an article reviewing the book “Stages of Capital: Law, Culture, and Market Governance in Late Colonial India” by Ritu Birla there is a mention of different types of donations practised by traditional Jain merchants of Jaipur such as:

anukampa-dan, a gift given out of compassion;
ucit-dan, a gift given out of duty;
kirti-dan, a gift given to earn fame;
abhay-dan, a gift of fearlessness;
supatra-dan, a gift of religion.

This approach of accepting that donations have various motivations,and according all such donations, irrespective of motivations, legitimacy makes it so much easier to talk about charity,gifting and philanthropy.It doesn’t expect the giver to be a altruistic saint all the time.Nor does it demean the receiver since he/she helps the giver to get something of value in return.Overall it saves a lot of agony and agonizing in the giver,receiver and society at large.